Second-Hand Smoke Exposure and Blood Lead Levels in U.S. Children

• Published in: Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.) Mass.), 2003-11, Vol.14 (6), p.719-727
• Main Authors: Mannino, David M., Albalak, Rachel, Grosse, Scott, Repace, James
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Age groups; Blood; Child; Child nutrition; Child, Preschool; Children; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Cigarette smoking; Cotinine - blood; Environmental Exposure - analysis; Epidemiology; Female; Geometric mean; Humans; Lead; Lead - blood; Logistic Models; Male; Poverty; Secondhand smoke; Tobacco Smoke Pollution - analysis; United States
• ISSN: 1044-3983; 1531-5487
• DOI: 10.1097/01.EDE.0000081998.02432.53

Background: Lead is a component of tobacco and tobacco smoke, and smokers have higher blood lead levels than do nonsmokers. Methods: We examined the relation between second-hand smoke exposure and blood lead levels in a nationally representative sample of 5592 U.S. children, age 4-16 years, who participated in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1988-1994). Linear and logistic regression modeling was used to adjust for known covariates. Results: Geometric mean blood lead levels were 1.5 μg/dL, 1.9 μg/dL, and 2.6 μg/dL for children with low, intermediate, and high cotinine levels, respectively. The adjusted linear regression model showed that geometric mean blood lead levels were 38% higher (95% confidence interval [CI] = 25-52%) in children with high continine levels compared with children who had low continine levels. The logistic regression models showed that children with high continine levels were more likely to have blood lead levels ≥10 μg/dL than were children with low continine levels (odds ratio [OR] = 4.4; CI = 1.9-10.5). Conclusions: Second-hand smoke could be associated with increased blood lead levels in U.S. children aged 4-16 years.